Master of Interaction Design and Electronic Arts

The MIDEA program enables you to design for the future, using the emergent technologies of today. Technology is becoming closely interwoven into everyday life. How we create and design these interactions is crucial to their success and the positive impact they have on our lives. This understanding forms the core of the program’s design philosophy: technology that is designed to delight its users.

We aim to infuse the latest technological innovation with a human-centred design thinking to solve complex problems. The program promotes a creative and critical approach, within the framework of research-driven interaction design and user experience methodologies. The result is an understanding of how to design interactive products, services and systems that will have lasting cultural and commercial importance.

In the Graduate Certificate, students will develop the essential industry knowledge and skills for working as an interaction or user experience designer, at ease with web and mobile applications. Once you have these core skills in human-centred design thinking, web/mobile interface design and software programming, you are trained to analyse and evaluate their application in a range of design contexts. This evaluative approach is what enables our students to create meaningful interactive experiences that will become ubiquitous parts of our everyday life.

In the Graduate Diploma, students will engage in design studio projects to extend these skills, both conceptually and technically. We offer a studio-based teaching environment in which students work individually or in teams to creatively solve design challenges. You will learn to design across multiple platforms and scales - from natural, tangible and wearable user interfaces to interactive architecture, creative robotics and urban informatics. Your ideas may even become the basis of prototype products, patents or start-up services.

The Masters program culminates in a capstone research project, industry internship or graduation design project. This is where you can dive deep into a topic of your interest, collaborate on a design research project with one of our academic researchers, or gain valuable industry experience. The Faculty draws on industry and alumni contacts to enable opportunities to build your professional network. These factors combine to position you as a well-connected creative industry specialist with expertise across the strategic, creative and technical domains.

Course rules

Graduate Certificate in Interaction Design and Electronic Arts

Graduate Diploma in Interaction Design and Electronic Arts

Master of Interaction Design and Electronic Arts

These resolutions must be read in conjunction with applicable University By-laws, Rules and policies including (but not limited to) the University of Sydney (Coursework) Rule 2000 (the 'Coursework Rule'), the Resolutions of the Faculty, the University of Sydney (Student Appeals against Academic Decisions) Rule 2006 (as amended) and the Academic Board policies on Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism.

Course Resolutions

1 Course codes

Code

Course title

GCINDEAR-01

Graduate Certificate in Interaction Design and Electronic Arts

GNINDEAR-01

Graduate Diploma in Interaction Design and Electronic Arts

MAINDEAR-01

Master of Interaction Design and Electronic Arts

2 Attendance pattern

0.

The attendance pattern for this course is full time or part time according to student choice.

3 Master's type

0.

The master's degree in these resolutions is a professional master's course, as defined by the Coursework Rule.

4 Embedded courses in this sequence

(1)

The embedded courses in this sequence are:

(a)

the Graduate Certificate in Interaction Design and Electronic Arts

(b)

the Graduate Diploma in Interaction Design and Electronic Arts

(c)

the Master of Interaction Design and Electronic Arts

(2)

Providing candidates satisfy the admission requirements for each stage, a candidate may progress to the award of any of the courses in this sequence. Only the longest award completed will be conferred.

5 Admission to candidature

(1)

Available places will be offered to qualified applicants based on merit, according to the following admissions criteria.

(2)

Admission to the Graduate Certificate in Interaction Design and Electronic Arts requires a bachelor's degree from the University of Sydney or an equivalent qualification.

(3)

Admission to the Graduate Diploma in Interaction Design and Electronic Arts requires:

(a)

a bachelor's degree from the University of Sydney or an equivalent qualification; or

(b)

completion of the requirements of the embedded graduate certificate with a WAM of at least 70.

(4)

Admission to the Master of Interaction Design and Electronic Arts requires:

(a)

a bachelor's degree from the University of Sydney or an equivalent qualification with a credit average mark across all units; or

(b)

completion of the requirements of the embedded graduate diploma; or

(c)

completion of the requirements of the embedded graduate certificate with a weighted average mark of at least 70.

(5)

In exceptional circumstances the Dean may admit applicants without these qualifications but whose evidence of experience and achievement is deemed by the Dean to be equivalent.

6 Requirements for award

(1)

The units of study that may be taken for the courses are set out in Table G.

(2)

To qualify for the award of the Graduate Certificate in Interaction Design and Electronic Arts, a candidate must complete 24 credit points, including:

(a)

minimum 18 credit points of core foundational units of study; and

(b)

maximum 6 credit points of elective units of study.

(3)

To qualify for the award of the Graduate Diploma in Interaction Design and Electronic Arts, a candidate must complete 48 credit points, including:

(a)

minimum 18 credit points of core foundational units of study;

(b)

minimum 18 credit points of core advanced units of study; and

(c)

maximum 12 credit points of elective units of study.

(4)

To qualify for the award of the Master of Interaction Design and Electronic Arts, a candidate must complete 72 credit points, including:

(a)

minimum 18 credit points of core foundational units of study; and

(b)

minimum 18 credit points of core advanced units of study;

(c)

minimum 12 credit point capstone unit of study; and

(d)

maximum 24 credit points of elective units of study

(5)

Core units completed in excess of the minimum requirements may count as elective units of study.

7 Course transfer

0.

A candidate for the master's degree or graduate diploma may elect to discontinue study and graduate with a shorter award from this embedded sequence, with the approval of the Dean, and provided the requirements of the shorter award have been met.

8 Transitional provisions

(1)

These resolutions apply to students who commenced their candidature after 1 January, 2015 and students who commenced their candidature prior to 1 January, 2015 who elect to proceed under these resolutions.

(2)

Candidates who commenced prior to 1 January, 2015 may complete the requirements in accordance with the resolutions in force at the time of their commencement, provided that requirements are completed by 1 January, 2017. The Faculty may specify a later date for completion or specify alternative requirements for completion of candidatures that extend beyond this time.